Possibilities

Possibilities for a child with autism are limitless. I use this phrase all the time since I heard it a couple of years ago. This goes for any child but I have coined the phrase for my child.

When we choose to limit our child with autism to a specific set of rules or things I believe it can be a huge mistake.  The world outlines for us as parents of children on the spectrum what our child should do, what they can’t do, what they will never do. A lot of times it’s negative information we are being fed. But you don’t need to buy into that.

I have never accepted what someone else has told me about my child, especially if I knew that it wasn’t accurate. Not that I don’t listen or try to make sense of things others say, but I know my child the best.  I’ve been there from the beginning. My child was part of me before he was part of this world and I will gladly listen to others perspectives on my child but I will never let their opinions define my child.

Children with autism have school challenges, no doubt. My child is no different.  But being in tune with the way a child learns is so very important.

Being able to see something and know exactly how that project will look for my child is a challenge but one I am always happy to take on.

I love the learning process. Each time there is a new school project I relish in the possibilities or not only what my child will learn but what I will learn as well.

Our son recently had an art project at school. They were to find a painting to replicate and then watch a YouTube tutorial on how to do this. Sounds easy?

I didn’t really know how to approach this project. Luckily our son’s tutor is amazing at looking at projects and breaking them down in steps. She knows our son well and can adapt anything to his learning needs. I always learn so much from her

For this project we were working on a deadline so she watched the video and decided that it would be a good idea if our son, one of his friends and her all had their own canvases and did this project together in stages.  This was a great idea! It’s so fascinating to me to watch this because honestly I had no idea what it would look like. My goal was just to have him learn something new in this process.

They all did the work together as a group but all of the paintings were slightly different because their interpretation was different.

It took them a few sittings to complete all the work but when it was done I was totally amazed. I knew our son had some artistic ability but I was blown away at the end result!   Wow was all I could say! A picture of his painting is above!

It goes to show you that with the proper guidance and understanding of how an individual works amazing things can happen.  A child can learn to express themselves and feel confidence in their accomplishments.

I continue to be amazed and realize that life does have limitless possibilities for all of us. We just need to believe that they can happen!